The Art of Doing Nothing: a feminist manifesto

The Art of Doing Nothing: a feminist manifesto is about listening to yourself and the world around you. About saving power to explode with power.

It is not about doing nothing. It is a proposal for navigating choice and making sense of your own place in a chaotic world; to not always swim against the current, but sometimes let yourself be carried on the waves. It is a personal vision on how to be wrong, how to sink into doubt, how to embrace the magical space of not knowing.

The piece celebrates soft, ‘feminine’ qualities like intuition, vulnerability and emotionality, and leans into the empowerment and freedom that comes with giving space to them. In a world where these strengths are seen as weak and inferior, The Art of Doing Nothing becomes a necessarily feminist act, a radical antidote to patriarchal norms of certainty and hierarchical power.

Guided by intimate yet absurd texts, Stephanie Pan and Ensemble Klang lure you onto a sonic roller-coaster that dives and soars through lush dramatic song, fragile delicate soundscapes, chaos, post-punk noise, and pounding tekno beats.

Credits:

Concept, music, text & voice:  Stephanie Pan

performed with:  Ensemble Klang (Saskia Lankhoorn – keys and backing vox; Pete Harden – guitars; Anton van Houten – trombone; Erik-Jan de With & Michiel van Dijk – saxophones; Joey Marijs – percussion)

Live sound:  Tom Giles
Lighting & video:  Pavla Beranová
Conceptual advice:  Snejanka Mihaylova
Project image:  Chaja Hertog

Photos: Tessa Veldhorst / De Schaapjesfabriek except those marked Judith Zandwijk

“’Loving being still. Knowing when to pounce.’ The Art of Doing Nothing embodies the notion perfectly.” A Closer Listen (Maya Merberg)

“Sometimes serene and peaceful, despite a constant underlying anxiety, it lets energy build up before erupting musically and emotionally, such that its peaks are evermore impressive.”A Closer Listen (Maya Merberg)

“a rollercoaster embracing soundscapes through to post-punk. A conceptual performative piece… extremely impressive… an early highlight [at Rewire]…” 3voor12 (live at Rewire)

“an impressive album… Pan’s passionate vocals soar effortlessly” Gonzo Circus (Rene van Peer)

…puts into her score her empathic and compositional skills but above all her expressive vitalism. Iridescent music featuring electronics, sound poetry, modern opera, blues psycho-futurism, epic minimalism and the art-pop of the future-present.’ Blow Up

‘(…) an exquisite mix of theatrics (Pan has a powerful voice with which she can do anything) and a bed of music on which she can do anything.’ Vital Weekly

‘(…) deliberate, slow, meandering, yet restless (…) It then explodes, screaming, yelling!, (…) Stephanie’s wails, cries, yelps that physically hurt you. Live autopsy!’ Uni